Pete Patel’s coffee shop gives way to high-end café.
By The American Bazaar Staff
WASHINGTON, DC: An Indian American family operated coffee shop and newsstand in the lobby of a building in Manhattan, which also has Facebook as a tenant, was forced out on Christmas day despite a public campaign to save his business, to make way for a high-end café.
The Headline News was located in the lobby of 770 Broadway at Astor and was run by Pete Patel along with two family members, reported the New York Post. The small newsstand sold bagels, coffee, snacks and cold beverages, and served employees of Billboard, Adweek, Huffington Post/AOL, and theater-trade pub Backstage.
Workers were heartbroken when a sign was posted earlier this week informing them that Patel had to close his shop on Christmas Eve because his lease with the building had been terminated.
A petition was created on Change.org to stop building manager Vornado from moving Headline News out of the space, reported the Post.
The petition gathered more than 700 signatures in a day. “They are such a big part of 770, they can’t go! #savethelittleman” said one commenter. “Facebook can’t have its way. If Headline News can afford to stay, let them,” said another.
Some believe Facebook, which moved into the building in 2013, requested that a higher- end coffee shop move in to replace Headline News, said the Post story. “Facebook wants a fancy espresso joint,” said a source, “so when visitors come, they have a place to take them.”
But a rep for Facebook, which already has an expansive cafeteria with coffee at its offices in the building, told us: “while we do work with Vornado, we have not approached them about the coffee shop.”
Patel was notified six months ago that Vornado was terminating its lease with him. Cafe Bluestone Lane, a Australian-influenced coffee shop chain, will be moving into the space.